Boron, the chemical element with an atomic number (Z) = 5, is an uncommon element. The reason is that there is no really easy way for stars to make it except through going supernova. A more technical way of saying this is that stellar nucleosynthesis is not a viable pathway to produce boron. As a matter of fact, it is the least common very light element except for lithium.
Tonight we shall look into some of the properties and uses of boron, as suggested by Kossack shrike Friday evening during comments on Popular Culture. The interest that shrike has in some new medical uses for boron, and we shall go into some detail near the end of the piece.